


What Would A Mother Not Do For Her Child?

by BogDing



Series: Blade of Lance-Marmora [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Edited to change Zarrli to Krolia sjdhdvsj, Other, SO, i love her and i feel so bad for her, she loves keith but didn't want him to get hurt, zarrli's thought process
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-15 01:53:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13603083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BogDing/pseuds/BogDing
Summary: Leaning back, she reached under her pillow and pulled out the small black and gold box from under it. Her name was printed on it prettily, fingers and claws running over the now familiar script of the human English language.





	What Would A Mother Not Do For Her Child?

**Author's Note:**

> this is an exerpt from Lion Hearted, and follows keith's mom's thought process after seeing Lance for the first time. Just some pain for a stoic, distant and relatively minor character that's going to have a larger part in the story later on
> 
> the title is based off the song 'After All' by Rebecca Suga, and i thought it matched the mood for this story perfectly. If you want to give it a listen, here's a link: 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFs21Qmgppw !
> 
> Edit: of fricken course they release krolias name now i have to edit everything akdjdhdbsvd

Krolia watched as the small family group walked into the patient room, the electric doors shutting firmly behind them. Her purple gaze stared blankly at where they'd been for a few moments before she sucked in a deep breath. Standing straighter, she turned on her heel and walked out of the medic bay.

She marched through the purple halls of the Blade's headquarters, her mind running at a mile a minute. She'd heard rumors about Antok's strange cub, but she'd thought they'd been about an Olkarri child or something similar that they'd saved from one of the larger prison ships. The Galra woman ignored other operatives around her, quickly moving to enter her own quarters, the tightness in her chest becoming worse with every step.

Spotting her chamber doors, she quickly unlocked them, entering and locking the doors behind her. She didn't want to be disturbed by anyone else while her thoughts plummeted. Glancing over the room, a wave of guilt and longing washed over her, her clawed hands tightening into fists, nails biting into the calloused sink of her palms. She forced them to relax as she felt the skin stretch threateningly, unwilling to break the skin and cause more scarring.

Taking a small breath, Krolia sat heavy on her bed, elbows leaning on her knees as she stared blankly at her floor for a few moments. Reaching up, she ran her hand over her face with a slow exhale, her breath shaky and shallow, her eyes feeling suspiciously wet. Leaning back, she reached under her pillow and pulled out the small black and gold box from under it. Her name was printed on it prettily, fingers and claws running over the now familiar script of the human English language.

Pausing for a moment, Krolia soon flipped the latch at the front of the box, opening it to peer inside the small wooden compartment as a soft, tinkling song filled up the quiet chambers. She closed her eyes to listen to the melody for a few moments before reaching in to pull out what was inside. Some white and pink shells, a white plaster mold of a tiny hand followed by two sets of bigger hands, a leather necklace with a plain gold band and a small pile of photographs. She smiled sadly at the sight of the small trinkets, setting aside everything except the photographs pile, clutching it gently between her claws as she looked down at the first image.

Her own face looked back at her, a younger face with fewer scars and a soft smile. Her golden eyes were staring down at a shorter figure beside her. There was a soft love in those eyes, one mirrored by the deep brown eyes of the figure beside her. His hands were placed protectively over her pictured self's round belly, a bright grin lighting up his scruffy face, wrinkles and laugh lines already crinkling the sides of his eyes as he looked up at her. Krolia smiled, flipping the photo to the back as she looked at the next.

It was blurry, an image of black and white, but the form clearly outlined was what caught her attention. A curled up being lay there, arms resting in front of them, a thumb in the small thing's mouth. The face, still only just starting to look familiar, was peaceful, and she felt her heart clench painfully as she flipped to the next picture. A little, scrunched up human face looked up at her, tiny eyes wide open and staring up at the camera. She remembered cooing soft words, a rumbling purr running through her as the child lay in her mate's arms. His eyes were purple, staring up at her, confusion as irritation causing his tiny nose to wrinkle sweetly.

She flipped the picture again, the coiling tightness in her chest and the building wetness in her eyes blinding her briefly when her tears finally spilled over, running down her cheeks. The last picture had been taken by surprise, a soft, tender moment between her child and herself, foreheads resting against each other with their eyes closed, the soft glow of a sunset illuminating them in the dusty wooden room. She could remember the scent of her son, human baby powder making her nose tickle, the fresh smell of the soft soap they used for his baths. The little boy was different in this picture, soft purple fur framing his cheeks in some kind of mane, dark hair curled atop his head with two small, purple ears sticking out from the soft locks. A tiny tail could be seen hanging over her arms as she held him, tiny clawed hands clutching the fur of her chest, which peeked over the edge of her shirt. She remembered his own tiny purrs mixing with hers, the sweet chuckle and shutter of the camera causing her ears to twitch and her golden eyes to glance over at Kenneth. Krolia flipped the image over to look at the back, taking a small breath to try to calm herself down., finding her mate's handwriting clearly on the back, followed by her own in Galra script: ' _Krolia and Keith (Age 2)_ ' and chuckled wetly, wiping the tears from her eyes as she sniffled. 

She truly hadn't meant to fall in love when the Empire had first sent her down to Earth. Unlike many of the Blade members, she was not born into the Galra rebellion, having joined it only after she'd first left the small blue planet when Keith was still young (too young to remember her, too young to be a threat to the Empire should he ever get off his own planet, too young to be hurt by her leaving them for their own protection), deciding then and there, as she made her way back to the flagship she'd been returning to, to ensure that they'd never be able to find the small blue planet again.

She'd branded herself as a traitor that day, destroying the flagship and hacking into the Empire's main database to delete as much as she could about the planet. She couldn't remove the knowledge of the planet existing, but she could ensure that the location and original report on it were gone, replaced with her own made up report. She'd written it as a barren planet, useless to the Empire for any supplies they might want to conquer a planet for. She'd deleted her own files, essentially becoming a ghost, before hopping on an escape pod and heading off into the unknown, away from Earth where her mate and cub were safe and sound.

She'd abandoned the Empire vessel on a swap moon, stealing another ship there and continuing on her journey, making sure to stop every few thousand lightyear leaps at another moon to abandon and steal the next vessel.

That was when she'd made the mistake of stealing a supply ship from the Blade. 

After being caught and interrogated for hours, they'd been impressed by her stalwart silence. They'd offered her a place, provided she pass their tests, and was given an opportunity to continue fighting the Empire as best she could. 

And fight them she did. She never left to return to Earth, as she'd been hoping to do, her guilt for breaking her promise to her mate and Keith weighing heavily on her shoulders. But the Empire would never stop searching for her, would never stop searching for a way to hurt her, and so, she stayed away. Better to protect them by never returning than to bring about the threat of the Empire finding their small blue planet. 

Krolia closed her eyes, setting aside the pile of photos back into the box, the song having softly trailed off as it came to an end. She reached out, letting her fingers trail over the wedding band on her necklace, before reaching out to pick up the slab of plaster beside it. Her claws lightly scraped over the white substance, coming away with a chalky dust that she would later wipe off of her claws. Keith's name stood proudly next to his tiny handprint, the perfect blend between human and Galra, her own handprint and Kenneth's standing beside each other above it. Their names were all written out in English and Galran, and she trailed her fingers over Keith's name, caressing the letters softly. Sorrow welled up in her chest once more.

"I'm so sorry I'm not there for you, Kabrne," she whispered, staring down at the tiny handprint for a little longer, before quickly packing everything back up into the box, hiding the wooden compartment under her pillow once again.

Later that evening she was seated at one of the cafeteria tables, eating her meal on her own, away from the other groups of the Blade, stoic mask firmly in place.

Her heart still aching.


End file.
